Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline set to launch operations

Russia’s Aeroflot will launch its new Far East subsidiary Aurora Airline
by the end of the week. Aeroflot holds a 51% stake and the Sakhalin regional government owns 49% of the new subsidiary. Aurora has received its first Airbus A319 in the new livery and will fly from Moscow to the Far East before the end of the week.

By year end, Aurora will have four A319s; two additional A319s/320s will arrive at the beginning of 2014. All of the aircraft are from Aeroflot’s fleet. By 2018, the Far East subsidiary expects its fleet to grow to 40 aircraft. It will also include some regional aircraft such as the Bombardier Q300, Q400 and DHC-6 Twin Otter. The carrier plans to increase its destinations from 30 to 128 and will operate flights from main cities including Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Magadan.

Aeroflot needs regional government support to develop regional routes in this part of the country. CEO Vitaly Saveliev said he is ready to cooperate with other regional governments in the Far East.

In September, the airline announced the new Far East subsidiary, originally named Taiga Airline, which was created by merging SAT Airlines and Vladivostok Avia, which will reportedly cease operations at the beginning of 2014.

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